Better Off Without You
by SherbertLemon101
Summary: Did Fred really die the same prankster he always was? One Shot. No Fred/Susan romance.


"Stupefy!" came the strangled cry of Fred Weasley. He couldn't help but laugh as the old man shrieked and hit the floor. However Fred was no fool, he did not wait around for the Death Eater to pick himself up again. He raced around the corridor, arms flailing wildly and dodging colourful curses. It seemed endless yet it entertained the trouble maker. Sure, it was a life or death situation but you might as well have as much fun as you can before the big decision takes place right? With less-than-brave battle cries, the red head speeded around Hogwarts and aided his peers in battling. It was easy to tell apart the students from the death eaters despite the fact that all he saw was flashes of green and red. The students tended to scream "Stupefy!" "Experilliamus!" or "Petrificatus Totalus!" whereas the pleasant you-know-who's followers preferred saying "Crucio!" "Imperio!" and even the A word at times. Fred recalled the time his twin brother, George Weasley, thought the A word was 'avocado'. He remembered how the two of them were on their kitchen floor, clutching their stomachs and gasping for breath as their furious mother walked in and told them to "quit giggling and help around with the house work".

Fred had a nagging feeling that a moment like that would never be able to be replicated again. _George_. That one name had him snapping out of nostalgia and into the present time. To be honest, Fred much preferred living in the past but he'd just have to laugh in death's face. It was what the twins were best at. With a new sense of courage he screamed "WHO HERE IS IN LEAGUE WITH VOLDIE BALDIE?" A million spells made a bee-line towards him. Having watched all the muggle movies, he ducked, he tumbled, he rolled, and he leaped away in search of a safer area. He even managed to add a cartwheel in the routine. Call him what you may, he would not care less.

Girl's Toilet. It was stupid, feeling embarrassed to hide in a female area in a disastrous time like the event happening now. Pushing the raging hormones aside mentally, Fred pushed the door open and it was empty. Maybe death eaters were raised right after all. No one could say the same for Fred Weasley but they would keep that to themselves unless they wanted to risk having Molly Weasley put bars on their windows.

_Experilliamus!_ It wasn't Fred's voice. It sounded like a girl with a high pitched voice. It couldn't have been Moaning Myrtle since she was already dead. Still Fred took a while to register the fact that he was disarmed now. He'd been so distracted that he had not realised that his wand had disappeared. He held back his tongue to prevent from letting slip a rude word. Then almost as soon as his wand disappeared, it was chucked back at him and it hit him in the t- section of his face. "Sorry," came a trembling voice. "Ow," was his intelligent response. It wasn't a death eater. No death eater would apologise for attacking someone with their own wand. After blinking a few times, Fred saw a recognisable face. It was Susan Bones. He sighed and picked up his wand. The girl had always had a small crush on him but he ignored it, pretending to be oblivious to that fact. However he was not too heartless and did not leave her to fend for herself.

"What are you doing here?" he asked simply. There was a long pause.

"I'm scared," she whimpered back. As she stepped closer to Fred, he could see that chunks of her brunette hair were missing and her face was red and covered with messy tears. For once the witty Weasley was lost for words. How was he supposed to get a scared little girl to come and fight? "Well…you were in Dumbledore's Army right?" he asked innovatively. The girl jerked her head up and down.

"Well there you go. This is what we have been training for. We didn't do all that just for a laugh. We need to apply it," Fred was surprised at the assertiveness of his own voice. It was a tone he never used but some things were worth defending. He was hoping to put his confidence into her. Susan shook her head vigorously and sat cross-legged on the floor. Something clattered outside the toilet and the two students froze with tension. Nothing happened. Fred turned his head slightly so that if anything came through the door, he would spot it immediately. However Susan had another idea. There was an open window and the girl's eyes kept darting towards it. Two words: escape route. Silence's toll remained. The Weasley twin's neck became stiff in its position. It reminded him off the time when George thought it would be funny to 'Petrificatus Totalus' him when he was in the shower. In the end it was Ron who stumbled in red-faced to the rescue. From that point on, in the girls' bathroom, things seemed to be going in slow motion. Every movement of Fred's seemed to take forever and the stillness of the place was frustrating. Then as if a rubber band had snapped, things regained original speed.

Fred whisked back around only to find that Susan was gone. Though he guesses she had no clue what she was doing, he couldn't stop himself hating her. _Better of without you… _he thought relentlessly which was very unlike him. This battle would change people but maybe it would change this young man for the worst. It was the least of Fred's wishes to become a merciless brute but at the path he was going, he was closer to that wish than a shooting star.

A deafening crash sounded and the door burst open to reveal a gang of death eaters. Splinters from the newly destroyed door, settled themselves on Fred's back. He winced in pain and made a run for the door. He knocked most of the death eaters away and then a chase scene started to fold out. Curses flew past his cheek and ear; he shot back without even sparing them a glance. Soon the flow of spells shot towards him stopped and Fred had seemingly regained his winning streak. He was smiling. A triumphant smile. The smile seemed to have forgotten what had just happened with Susan.

The smile also didn't register that he had been shot with a killing curse. The gaping smile was still there, blissfully unaware of everything. Ginny would have mentioned something about closing his mouth or he would catch flies. Everyone crowded around his body which was now on the floor. Why did they all look so devastated? Fred had no clue. He did not bother trying to get up but he did not know what had happened or what was happening to him. In other words, Fred Weasley did not know that he was going to die.

Then a small girl, a familiar small girl, pushed past the ground and whimpered as she shook his body. It was Susan Bones. What she had done after climbing out of the window, no one knew and no one would probably care enough to find out. "I-I'm sorry,"

"Better of without you," he whispered in a dazed voice followed by a giggle. That was the last of Fred Weasley. The Old Prankster or A Changed Man…

Only time can tell.

If only time was kind enough to spare his soul.

**Our Time is Running Out**

**Out Time is Running Out**

**You Can't Push it Underground**

**You Can't stop it Screaming Out**

_**(Time is Running Out by Muse)**_

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_**Out of Story: Howdy! Now this little one shot is for a competition for HPFC! The two characters I had to do were Susan Bones and Fred Weasley (as you can hopefully tell). I know that the characters were slightly OC but I hope you don't mind. Well enjoy and please review! I love reading them! Praise or improvement ideas, I don't mind! Thanks =D**_


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